Valladolid City Council and CaixaBank have announced a collaboration agreement to install part of the vertical garden of the URBAN GreenUP project on the façade of the bank’s building, located on Regalado Street, on the corner of Teresa Gil, in Valladolid. The installation, which will have surface area of 90 square metres, will reuse part of the structure of the old vertical garden of this European project led by CARTIF.
With total budget of 169,039 euros, the City Council will contribute 82,102 euros, of which 73,000 euros will correspond to a direct subsidy, and 9,102 euros to the value of the materials used, according to the Consistory. For its part, CaixaBank will invest 86,937 euros and will be responsible for the design, execution and maintenance of the garden, which is expected to be installed in the first half of 2025.
The garden will have around 3,000 plants that will contribute to improve air quality, reduce noise and generate environmental benefits in the heart of the city centre of Castilla y León. This project is in line with the city’s strategies to move towards a sustainable development model, highlighting its commitment to urban renaturalisation and climate change mitigation.
Jesús Julio Carnero, Mayor of Valladolid, declared that “this vertical garden is a symbol of our commitment to a greener future. Its installation represents an important step towards a more liveable and sustainable city”. On the other hand, Gerardo Cuartero, territorial director of CaixaBank in Castilla y León, added that “with this initiative we reaffirm our commitment to the urban environment and our desire to generate a positive impact on the community”, according to the official stratement issued by the City Council itself.
The first vertical garden in Valladolid
The original vertical garden was installed in July 2020 in the old El Corte Inglés building in the centre of Valladolid, as part of the URBAN GreenUP project. This action occupied around 350 square metres of vegetation distributed between the main façade of the building, located on Construction Street, as well as the side of the building on Menéndez Pelayo Street.
The vegetation was composed of native plants adapted to the city’s climate and had a water recirculation system for irrigation, as well as the supply of nutrients through filters. During the following years, measurements were taken, through various sensors installed throughout the vertical garden, to measure different parameters such as thermal oscillation or pollution, among other parameters, to check the effectiveness of these actions.
On 30 May 2023, the removal of the vertical garden began after the closure of El Corte Inglés on this site, making way for the remodelling works that now house the third largest Zara in Spain.